As photographers, we take numerous amounts of photos.....but always of other people. We safely stay behind the camera and shoot away. We love making others feel good about themselves, and this in return makes us feel good.
However, going on the other side is a totally different experience. We tend to shy away from the camera when we are in front of it. And I am no exception. I am good with taking self portraits, because I can maybe select the ones that I like myself the most. However how does it feel when you trust another photographer to not only shoot portraits of you but to also trust him in the choice.
Last Friday I went through such an experience and trusted friend and photographer Ian Abdilla to take a few portraits of me. The exercise was mutual, since I did the same in return, but the results will be in another blog post.
I believe this exercise would benefit other photographers. Suddenly, when I was on the other side I obviously felt self conscious, but it was also an eye opener into how my clients feel when they are in front of my lens. I suppose knowing the person shooting you is a plus, so how can we make others feel comfortable with us if they would have just met us? As photographers, our job is not only that of pressing the shutter. Psychology comes in and getting to genuinely know our clients, will help us not only connect, but will make them feel comfortable enough to trust us into taking portraits of them. The results then will speak for themselves!
Another thing is that I had no idea how I looked from other angles other than those reflected back at me in the mirror. How do I look when I am not looking at the camera? How do others see you? One of the things that struck me from these photos was my height and my long arms!
So get in front of that camera, let another photographer shoot you...and have fun!
